Female urinary incontinence is a troublesome problem for many individuals and can be classified into four major categories. From least to severe:                stress incontinence, in which a slight urine loss occur due to the momentary pressure caused by sneezing, coughing, laughing, or simply lifting a heavy object;        urge incontinence, in which a strong frequent desire to void is accompanied by involuntary urination within a minute or two of the urge;        overflow incontinence, which occurs when the bladder fills beyond capacity, creating pressure which exceeds urethral resistance—no urge to urinate is present, so the bladder just overflows; and        continuous incontinence, which is a conscious or unconscious urination, which is usually the result of an abnormal passage caused by surgery, trauma, or neural damage.        
A number of devises have been proposed to deal with female urinary incontinence, represented by, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,855 to Rosenbluth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,575 to Lenker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,340, to Lenker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,828 to Schulte, U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,427 to Simon et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,535 to Bjornberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,775 to Thompson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,684 to Rijkhoff, and Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) No. H1602 to Brock, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Rosenbluth et al. and both Lenker et al. patents disclose a resilient pad configured to seal against and occlude the urethral meatus, i.e., the urethral opening. These devices are described as shaped and sized to fit each individual user's anatomy, implying that the application of this device requires careful attention for a comfortable fit. Moreover, the devices are designed for individual custom fitting, calling for predetermined sizes to be trimmed individually for optimal fit, including the use in some cases of a mold of the relevant portions of the vulva taken prior to sizing the pad. A mirror or light is suggested to facilitate insertion, indicating that the devices are difficult to apply and suggests that the device may be designed for clinical use, attended by a physician or health care professional. Moreover, these devices do not appear to be designed for highly active women, e.g. running, jogging, high and low impact aerobics or any exercise where the movement of the lower torso is essential. The devices are rigid around the perimeter contributing to discomfort as used in its intended position. In addition, the complex construction and individual custom fitting indicates a probable high overall cost to the consumer.
Lenker et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,575 discloses in addition to the rigid female incontinence device, a more flexible device but only for male incontinence, shown in their FIGS. 26 to 30, and which is retained on the glans of a patient's penis by an adhesive layer formed of a pressure-sensitive hydrophilic hydrogel.
The device described in Shulte's patent is a mechanical device surgically implanted for prolonged use and features a fluid flow valve which can be operated manually, in contrast to the present invention's simplicity, ease of use and temporary nature as needed at the discretion of the user. In structure, the Shulte device appears to be a rigid mechanical device with a valve. Simon et al.'s device is designed to be inserted directly inside of the urethra with an “expandable balloon at its proximal end,” again, which is in total contrast to our present invention. Bjornberg et al. and Brock describe absorbent pads of the type that can be used as incontinence pads. Brock further describes a continuous layer of adhesive for securing the pad to a wearer's skin. The pads of both Bjornberg et al. and Brock are intended to cover large general areas.
Thompson describes a device to enhance clitoral stimulation during intravaginal intercourse, using a hydrophilic, non-allergenic adhesive to seat a foraminous, elongated, generally triangular shaped pad in the female vestibule to lie beneath the labia minora to support and engage the ventral aspect of the clitoris when it is engorged with blood during the arousal phase of female sexual stimulation.
Rijkhoff et al. describes a device that uses an implanted sensor and means for generating electrical pulses to stimulate nerves to inhibit contraction of the detrusor, the muscle that expels urine from the bladder. It recognizes what has been shown by investigators, that activation of afferent nerve fibres, innervating mechanoreceptors located in the clitoris, has a strong inhibitory effect on the bladder.